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As Morocco Reels from Deadly Quake, Survivors Seek Aid

A view shows a damaged building on the road between Amizmiz and Ouirgane, following a powerful earthquake in Morocco, September 9, 2023. © Reuters
A view shows a damaged building on the road between Amizmiz and Ouirgane, following a powerful earthquake in Morocco, September 9, 2023. © Reuters
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As Morocco Reels from Deadly Quake, Survivors Seek Aid

A view shows a damaged building on the road between Amizmiz and Ouirgane, following a powerful earthquake in Morocco, September 9, 2023. © Reuters
A view shows a damaged building on the road between Amizmiz and Ouirgane, following a powerful earthquake in Morocco, September 9, 2023. © Reuters

Survivors of Morocco's deadliest earthquake in more than six decades struggled to find food and water on Sunday as the search for the missing continued in hard-to-reach villages and the death toll of more than 2,000 seemed likely to rise further.

Many people spent a second night in the open after the 6.8 magnitude quake hit late on Friday. Relief workers face the challenge of reaching the most badly affected villages in the High Atlas, a rugged mountain range where settlements are often remote and where many houses crumbled.

In Moulay Brahim, a village near the epicentre some 40 km (25 miles) south of Marrakech, residents described how they had dug the dead from the rubble using their bare hands.

"We lost our houses and we lost people also and we are sleeping like two days outside," said 36-year-old Yassin Noumghar, another Moulay Brahim resident.

"No food. No water. We lost also electricity," he added, adding that he had received little government aid so far, Reuters reported.

"We want just for our government to help us," he said, expressing a frustration voiced by others.

Some aid efforts were underway in his village. Residents said food donations were coming from friends and family who live elsewhere. On Sunday morning cheese, bread and hot drinks were being distributed at the mosque.

Makeshift tents had been erected on a dirt soccer pitch.

Residents were wrapped in blankets after spending the night outside. One man, who was salvaging mattresses and clothes from his wrecked home, said he believed his neighbours were still under the rubble.

The government said on Saturday it was taking urgent measures to address the disaster including strengthening search and rescue teams, providing drinking water and distributing food, tents and blankets.

Spain received a formal request from Morocco for assistance and it would be sending search and rescue teams, the Spanish foreign minister said. France said it stood ready to help and was awaiting such a request from Morocco.

Other countries offering assistance include Türkiye, where earthquakes in February killed more than 50,000 people.

The latest Interior Ministry figures put the death toll at 2,012, with 2,059 people injured, including 1,404 in critical condition.

The World Health Organization said more than 300,000 people have been affected by the disaster.

"The next 24 to 48 hours will be critical in terms of saving lives," Caroline Holt, global director of operations for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said in a statement.

A road connecting Marrakech to Moulay Brahim was partly blocked by fallen boulders.

"There are a lot of people still under the rubble. People are still searching for their parents," Adeeni Mustafa, a resident from the Asni area, told Reuters.

Morocco has declared three days of mourning and King Mohammed VI called for prayers for the dead to be held at mosques across the country on Sunday.

The village of Tansghart in the Ansi area, on the side of a valley where the road from Marrakech rises up into the High Atlas, was the worst hit of several visited by Reuters journalists on Saturday.

Its picturesque houses, clinging to a steep hillside, were cracked open by the shaking ground. Those still standing were missing chunks of wall or plaster. Two mosque minarets had fallen.

The quake's epicentre was some 72 km (45 miles) southwest of Marrakech, a city beloved of Moroccans and foreign tourists for its medieval mosques, palaces and seminaries richly adorned with vivid mosaic tiling amid a labyrinth of rose-hued alleyways.

Marrakech's old quarter suffered extensive damage.

Families huddled on the streets, fearing their homes were no longer safe to return to.

It was Morocco's deadliest earthquake since 1960 when a quake was estimated to have killed at least 12,000 people, according to the US Geological Survey.

Marrakech is due to host the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank from Oct. 9.

An IMF spokesperson, asked on Saturday about the planned meetings, said: “Our sole focus at this time is on the people of Morocco and the authorities who are dealing with this tragedy.”

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Arab World

Libya: Tensions Flare in Al-Qatrun After a Young Man Killed in Shooting Blamed on LNA

The Supreme Council of Sheikhs and Dignitaries of Fezzan offers condolences to the people of al-Qatrun (Council)
The Supreme Council of Sheikhs and Dignitaries of Fezzan offers condolences to the people of al-Qatrun (Council)
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Libya: Tensions Flare in Al-Qatrun After a Young Man Killed in Shooting Blamed on LNA

The Supreme Council of Sheikhs and Dignitaries of Fezzan offers condolences to the people of al-Qatrun (Council)
The Supreme Council of Sheikhs and Dignitaries of Fezzan offers condolences to the people of al-Qatrun (Council)

Tension gripped the southern Libyan city of al-Qatrun following the killing of 16-year-old Hussein Matar, who was shot while at a petrol station in the city.

Accounts differed over who opened fire on Matar, as residents accused the Libyan National Army’s 87th Battalion of responsibility.

Al-Qatrun witnessed skirmishes and running clashes between residents and members of the 87th Battalion on Thursday evening, during which shots were fired indiscriminately. Several members of the Tebu tribe were seen carrying weapons.

The Fezzan National Political Gathering moved quickly to hold the perpetrators fully responsible and called on the 87th Battalion to “bear the full consequences of this crime”.

The Libyan National Army has not officially commented on the incident. However, a source close to its General Command said the leadership valued the people of al-Qatrun and was working to address their living difficulties.

Rania al-Sayd, a founding member of the Fezzan Gathering, said the incident “cannot be viewed as an isolated event or an individual dispute”.

She described it as “a direct attack on the social fabric and the fragile stability we are trying to preserve in the south”, saying it was intended “to drag the region back into chaos and cycles of revenge”.

Al-Sayd told Asharq Al-Awsat that “any attack on life, property or honor is unacceptable”, calling on the security and judicial authorities to carry out their duties by apprehending the perpetrators and bringing them to justice immediately.

She said she was counting on “the role of councils of elders, dignitaries and sheikhs in al-Qatrun and across the south”.

“Your role today is not ceremonial, but a duty,” she said. “You bear the responsibility of healing divisions, preventing bloodshed and containing the strife before it escalates.”

A delegation from the Supreme Council of Sheikhs and Dignitaries of Fezzan, headed by Sheikh Ibrahim Abu Bakr Nasr, arrived in al-Qatrun on Thursday evening in an effort to contain the escalating unrest, offer condolences and assess the situation in the city.

The Fezzan Gathering called for “the formation of an urgent and transparent investigative committee, the disclosure of its findings to the public and the surrender of the perpetrators to justice without concealment or delay”.

It also called for an end to what it described as “any retaliatory measures or collective punishment against the people of al-Qatrun”, warning against burdening the region with further bloodshed and tension.

In a statement issued on Thursday evening, the gathering called on the United Nations Support Mission in Libya to “fulfil its legal and moral responsibilities to protect civilians in the south and open an independent international investigation into the incident”.

It also urged the international community to “intervene urgently to stop these acts targeting innocent people and put an end to human rights violations in southern Libya”.

Al-Sayd said Libya “cannot withstand further crises and divisions”, warning that “what is happening in al-Qatrun could be repeated in any city if we continue to treat the symptoms while ignoring the causes”.

She also warned against “being drawn into strife and hate speech, or turning the region into a weapon in the hands of those who seek to divide us”.

Al-Qatrun is controlled by the Libyan National Army. The interim Government of National Unity has no presence in the city, which is experiencing fuel shortages similar to those affecting most Libyan cities.

The Supreme Council of Sheikhs and Dignitaries of Fezzan said its delegation had offered condolences to the people of al-Qatrun “as part of its community role and efforts to reunite the people of the region and consolidate unity”.

The council said on Friday that the delegation was received by Tebu sheikhs, elders and young people in al-Qatrun.

It said they discussed the incident in the city and stressed the importance of social cohesion and containing its repercussions.

“The blood of the people of Fezzan is one, and al-Qatrun’s wound is a wound for all of Fezzan,” the council said, pledging to continue pursuing “tolerance, reconciliation, the prevention of bloodshed and the upholding of justice”.

Libya’s National Institution for Human Rights also weighed in, expressing concern over “the rising number of extrajudicial killings in many cities, regions and municipalities”.

It attributed the increase to “the security chaos affecting many cities across the country as a result of the absence of the Interior Ministry and the relevant security authorities”.

The institution called on the Interior Ministry, the al-Qatrun Security Directorate, the Criminal Investigation Agency and the attorney-general’s office within the jurisdiction of the Sebha Court of Appeal to open a comprehensive investigation into Matar’s killing.

It also urged them to intensify efforts to arrest those accused of involvement in the crime and bring them to justice.

Lieutenant General Saddam Haftar, deputy commander-in-chief of the Libyan National Army, previously met sheikhs and dignitaries in al-Qatrun during a wider tour of several southern cities to assess security conditions and residents’ living needs.

Arab World

Hezbollah Seeks New Victory Narrative in Defending Beirut

Members of the Mahdi Scouts carry the coffins of a Hezbollah commander and members of his family during their funeral in Beirut’s southern suburbs (AP)
Members of the Mahdi Scouts carry the coffins of a Hezbollah commander and members of his family during their funeral in Beirut’s southern suburbs (AP)
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Hezbollah Seeks New Victory Narrative in Defending Beirut

Members of the Mahdi Scouts carry the coffins of a Hezbollah commander and members of his family during their funeral in Beirut’s southern suburbs (AP)
Members of the Mahdi Scouts carry the coffins of a Hezbollah commander and members of his family during their funeral in Beirut’s southern suburbs (AP)

As Israel continues to occupy large swathes of southern Lebanon and destroy entire villages, recent statements by Hezbollah officials have raised questions about a shift in the group’s priorities.

The “resistance,” which has long portrayed itself as a force dedicated to liberating occupied territory and confronting Israel, is now speaking more frequently of a “defensive confrontation” and of preventing Israeli forces from reaching Beirut.

That shift has come after Hezbollah’s “red lines” fell one after another. Places including Bint Jbeil, Khiam and Beaufort Castle had become central symbols of the battle.

The latest was the Ali al-Taher ridge, which Hezbollah refused to hand over to the Lebanese army before it, too, fell. The Israeli military said on Thursday evening that it had achieved “operational control” of the highland area, both above and below ground.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem has said several times that the group “prevented Israel from reaching Beirut and disarming us.”

His remarks came after Israel seized large areas of the south and destroyed others, while Hezbollah refrained from responding to Israeli attacks since the “framework agreement.”

Israeli officials have said their forces will remain in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed — an equation the group rejects.

Seeking victory after defeat

Amid Hezbollah’s deepening predicament, ministerial sources say its officials are now searching for “a victory somewhere” to present to their support base, which is suffering the consequences of the “support wars.”

“The discourse Hezbollah is presenting at this stage — sometimes by talking about Beirut and at other times by declaring Ali al-Taher a red line — is directed at its supporters and social base in an attempt to convince them that what happened was not a defeat, despite the scale of the losses and destruction they suffered,” the sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Dr. Riad Kahwaji, a researcher and writer specializing in security and defense affairs, offered a similar assessment, saying Hezbollah changes its narrative according to the circumstances it faces and is now seeking to justify its defeat.

Everything the group said before the war about deterrence, its ability to destroy Tel Aviv and the equation of “Haifa in exchange for Beirut’s southern suburbs” proved unsuccessful, he said.

Kahwaji told Asharq Al-Awsat that Qassem had also spoken of close combat with Israeli forces and threatened that they would not dare launch a ground battle or enter the battlefield.

The results on the ground, however, included the loss of more than 50 villages and the advance of Israeli forces north of the Litani River, to the outskirts of Nabatieh and the Ali al-Taher hill.

On the defensive despite the occupation

Kahwaji said Hezbollah now needs a new narrative “to sell to its popular base.” That narrative is built around the claim that the group prevented Israel from reaching Beirut and has shifted into a defensive position after losing its ability to liberate occupied territory.

Talk of defense and preventing further Israeli advances has therefore replaced talk of liberation.

Kahwaji said Hezbollah no longer invokes most of the narratives it promoted before the war. It now hopes its support base will accept the existing reality and be persuaded by the “achievement” the group is seeking to present.

A shift reflecting the depth of the predicament

Dr. Imad Salamey, a professor of political science at Lebanese American University, offered another interpretation of the shift in Hezbollah’s rhetoric.

He said the group’s officials are attempting to recast its role and weapons as a means of defending all of Lebanon, rather than only the south or the Shiite community.

“The claim that Israel would have reached Beirut is intended to address Lebanon’s various sectarian communities and persuade them that Hezbollah’s weapons provide a national protective umbrella,” Salamey told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“According to this narrative, demands for the group’s disarmament threaten the security of all Lebanese.”

At the same time, Salamey said the rhetoric also reflects the scale of the pressure Hezbollah is facing.

“The group is trying to pressure the government into backing away from its demand that weapons be placed exclusively under state control and to reject any arrangement that would require its military withdrawal from the south or from areas such as Ali al-Taher,” he said.

“The paradox is that Hezbollah’s continued armed presence outside state authority provides Israel with the pretext it uses to justify its continuing operations and military presence, while Lebanon’s priority should be to remove those pretexts and push Israel to withdraw.”

Salamey said Hezbollah’s preemptive rejection of any arrangement requiring its withdrawal or disarmament could not be separated from the ongoing negotiations.

“In practice, Hezbollah is seeking to derail any negotiations based on the state restoring full security control over the south,” he said.

“This weakens the government’s position and restricts its ability to demand an Israeli withdrawal.”

Arab World

Victims of Iraq’s Tishreen Protests Prepare to Sue Badr Organization Leader

Some Iraqis with disabilities were among the victims of the crackdown on the 2019 Tishreen protests (Reuters)
Some Iraqis with disabilities were among the victims of the crackdown on the 2019 Tishreen protests (Reuters)
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Victims of Iraq’s Tishreen Protests Prepare to Sue Badr Organization Leader

Some Iraqis with disabilities were among the victims of the crackdown on the 2019 Tishreen protests (Reuters)
Some Iraqis with disabilities were among the victims of the crackdown on the 2019 Tishreen protests (Reuters)

Reactions continued to mount in Iraq over controversial remarks by Badr Organization leader Hadi al-Amiri about the involvement of armed factions in suppressing the 2019 Tishreen protest movement, amid reports of moves to take legal action against him.

Defending the factions and what he described as their role in protecting the current political system, both by fighting ISIS and by confronting attempts to undermine its foundations, al-Amiri said the factions were responsible for quelling what he called the “Tishreen sedition,” referring to the popular protests that erupted in October 2019.

His remarks appeared to be a slip of the tongue, particularly as they came nearly seven years after the mass uprising, which claimed thousands of victims at the hands of what was then referred to as the “third party,” whose identity has never been revealed. The protesters’ sole slogan was: “We want a homeland.”

Al-Amiri is one of the leading figures in the Shiite Coordination Framework and a member of a three-man committee that also includes former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. The committee was formed to mediate between the Iraqi government, on one side, and armed factions refusing to surrender their weapons, on the other.

Al-Amiri made the controversial remarks at a public gathering several days ago, saying: “It was the resistance that courageously stood against the Tishreen sedition and preserved the state and the political system.”

His comments angered the families of protesters killed in the demonstrations, as well as those who were wounded.

Slip of the tongue

Al-Amiri’s remarks appeared intended to justify caution over demands that the factions surrender their weapons, particularly those that have said their arms are rooted in ideological commitments and tied to the ongoing confrontation between the United States and Iran.

His comments also followed a visit to Iraq last week by Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

But the remarks, widely described as a “slip of the tongue,” triggered a wave of criticism from victims of the Tishreen movement. Some drew a direct connection between al-Amiri’s statement that armed factions had confronted the “sedition” in 2019 and the unidentified “third party” accused of killing protesters.

The armed factions had not previously stated a position on accusations that they were the mysterious “third party.”

Al-Amiri’s comments, however, appeared to suggest that the party’s identity was now known, prompting victims’ families to begin pursuing legal action.

Al-Amiri has not personally responded to interpretations of his remarks. However, a Shi’ite politician close to the Coordination Framework told Asharq Al-Awsat that al-Amiri’s comments, as he intended them, were a defense of the factions’ position at a pivotal moment.

“The Tishreen movement was supported by regional and international parties and was indeed the most serious movement against the political class at the time, even though its slogans were patriotic,” the politician said.

“Attempts at the time to demonize the so-called third party as hostile to both sides — the government and the protesters — led to accusations against Baathists and others, including Israelis,” he added. “Those attempts were aimed at achieving one objective: protecting the political process from threats, as the ruling political class perceived them.”

The source said al-Amiri “could not have found stronger evidence of efforts to protect the political system than what the factions had done, perhaps without realizing the repercussions.”

“The factions protected the political system through one method: confronting the protesters and attempting to suppress them, which led to further casualties,” he said.

Asked why al-Amiri had not clarified his remarks to ease the fierce backlash, which is expected to move into the courts, the Shi’ite politician said: “Any justification or retraction would weaken his position and increase the accusations against the factions at a time when they are facing intense pressure to disarm.”

“He therefore appears to prefer confronting the protesters’ families, even if that produces legal consequences that may not be in his favor,” he added.

Impunity

Dozens of families of victims of the Tishreen movement have begun completing documents proving that their relatives were killed or wounded in clashes with security forces while taking part in the 2019 protests.

They plan to submit the documents as part of formal lawsuits before Iraqi courts following the Badr leader’s remarks.

The families, who have appointed lawyers to represent them in cases against al-Amiri, are undoubtedly aware that the courts may not convict him directly because his remarks were political.

Their likely objective, however, is to restore the reputations of their relatives who were killed or wounded after the authorities branded protesters at the time with harsh labels such as “agents” and “children of the embassies.”

Legal expert Ali al-Tamimi told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the killing of protesters constitutes genocide under Iraqi law and is not subject to a statute of limitations.”

“The attacks against protesters in Baghdad, Nasiriyah, Karbala and Najaf constituted acts of terrorism under Iraqi law and its definition of terrorism,” he said.

“These crimes are not subject to a statute of limitations or the passage of time under the convention barring statutory limitations for genocide crimes and can therefore be pursued at any point in the future,” Tamimi added.